Famous Trios

What famous trios, threesomes, or notable groups of three do you think of when it comes time to think of things that come in threes?

Is it the three-piece suit? Fashions come and go, but there is a certain fascination with a three-piece suit. It just stands out in a crowd. Face it, we all want to wear one. But why? Maybe it’s the symmetry or lack thereof.

Or maybe, it’s the three Wisemen? The three bears? Or the three eating utensils: knife, fork, and spoon? Could it be the Three Stooges or the three-point play in basketball? There are a lot of renowned things that are packaged in threes.

Here is a list of 100-plus famous threesomes.

Notable Groups of Three

1. Three-point shot in professional basketball.
2. Tic-Tac-Toe.
3. The Three Stooges – Larry, Moe, and Curly. (We’re not counting Joe)
4. Olympic Medals – Bronze, Silver, Gold.
5. Traffic Light – Red, Yellow, Green.
6. The Three Wise Monkeys – See no Evil, Hear No Evil, Speak No Evil.
7. Three Points for a Field Goal.
8. Neapolitan Ice Cream – Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry.
9. The Three Pyramids of Giza.
10. Third Degree Burn.
11. Goldilocks and the Three Bears.
12. Triceratops – Three Horned Dinosaur.
13. Three Little Pigs.
14. Triathlon – Swimming, Cycling, Running.
15. Three Peas in a Pod.

Famous Threesomes

1. Bee Gees – Barry, Robin, Maurice, the Brothers Gibb
2. Three Primary Colors – Red, Blue, Yellow
3. Holy Trinity – In Christianity, The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit
4. Three in a Row
5. Marx Brothers – Groucho, Chico, Harpo
6. Third Time’s the Charm
7. Threepeat – Winning a Championship three times in a row.
8. Land, Sea, and Air.
9. Three Coins in a Fountain
10. Philosophy: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle.
11. Triad. Triplet. Trio
12. Past, Present, Future tenses.
13. Three the Hard Way
14. Trifecta – Predicting three race winners in a row.
15. Triptych – A Three-Sided Display Board
16. Peter, Paul, and Mary
17. Three Blind Mice
18. Beginning, Middle, End
19. Atom parts: Proton, Neutron, Electron.
20. Three act plays.

Musical Groups with Three in Their Name

1. The Three Degrees
2. The Kingston Trio
3. The Three Sons
4. Three Dog Night
5. Three Doors Down
6. Third Eye Blind
7. 311
8. The Three Keys
9. Three Days Grace
10. The Three Tenors – José Carreras, Luciano Pavarotti, Placido Domingo
11. The Three Chords. *

*Note: Not a Musical Group, but responsible for most rock songs

Famous Jazz Trios

1. Nat King Cole Trio
2. Bill Eans Trio
3. Oscar Peterson Trio
4. Ahmad Jamal Trio
5. Red Garland Trio
6. Herbie Hancock Trio
7. McCoy Tyner Trio
8. Duke Ellington Trio
9. Vince Gauraldi Trio
10. Thelonius Monk Trio.

Rock Bands with Just Three Members

1. Blink 182 – Original Name, The Duct Tape
2. The Hanson Brothers
3. The Andrews Sisters – Patty, Laverne, Maxene
4. Peter, Paul, and Mary
5. Nirvana
6. Motorhead
7. Beastie Boys
8. Jimi Hendrix Experience
9. Bee Gees
10. Jonas Brothers
11. The Supremes – Diana Ross, Florence Ballard, Mary Wilson
12. Destiny’s Child – Beyoncé, Kelly Rowland, Michele Williams
13. TLC
14. Haim
15. Emerson, Lake, and Palmer – Keith Emerson, Greg Lake, Carl Palmer
16. Sublime
17. Run DMC
18. ZZ Top
19. Crosby, Stills, & Nash
20. The Police
21. Green Day
22. Rush
23. Cream – Eric Clapton, Ginger Baker, Jack Bruce
24. Pointer Sisters
25. Goo Goo Dolls
26. Wilson Phillips
27. A-Ha
28. Bananarama
29. Depeche Mode
30. The Cure
31. Grand Funk Railroad
32. Genesis – Tony Banks, Mike Rutherford, Phil Collins

Famous Love Triangles

1. Titanic – Jack, Rose, Cal
2. Cleopatra, Marc Antony, Julius Caesar
3. Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragoni, Ann Boleyn
4. Andrew Jackson, Rachel Jackson, Lewis Robards
5. Edward VIII, Wallis Simpson, Ernest Simpson
6. Eddie Fisher, Elizabeth Taylor, Debbie Reynolds
7. Princess Diana, Prince Charles, Camilla Parker-Bowles
8. Brad Pitt, Jennifer Anniston, Angelina Jolie
9. Spencer Tracy, Louise Treadwell, Katherine Hepburn
10. Casablanca – Rick, Victor, Llsa

Book Trilogies

1. Lord of the Rings – By J.R.R. Tolkien: Fellowship of the Rings, The Two Towers, The Rerun of the King
2. The Oedipus Cycle
3. Crazy Rich Asians
4. The Falconer
5. Finders Keepers
6. The Broken Earth
7. The Appalachian Territory
8. The Seed of America Trilogy
9. The Last Werewolf
10. The House of Earth – Pearl S. Buck’s The Good Earth, Sons, A House Divided.

Famous TV Threesomes

1. Buffy the Vampire Slayer – Buffy, Willow, Vander
2. Sponge Bob Square Pants – Sponge Bob, Patrick, Squidward
3. Star Trek – Kirk, Spock, McCoy
4. Charlie’s Angels – Farah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, Jaclyn Smith
5. Duck Tails – Huey, Duey, Louie
6. The Powerpuff Girls – Bubbles, Blossom, Buttercup
7. Three’s Company – Jack, Chrissy, Janet
8. Get Smart – Agent Smart, Agent 99, Chief
9. The Rifleman – The Rifleman, The Rifleman’s son, The Marshall.

Movies with Three in the Name

1. The Three Faces of Eve
2. Three Coins in a Fountain
3. Three-of-a-Kind
4. Three Days of the Condor
5. Three Men and a Baby
6. The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
7. Three Kings
8. A Letter to Three Wives
9. From Noon till Three
10. The Next Three Days
11. The Three Musketeers
12. Three Roses
13. Three the Hard Way
14. Paradise for Three
15. Murder in Three Acts.

Famous Movie Threesomes

1. Harry Potter – Harry, Hermione, Ron
2. Star Wars – Luke, Leia, Han Solo
3. The Three Amigos – Steve Martin, Martin Short, Chevy Chase
4. Nine to Five -Judy, Violet, Dora Lee
5. The Big Lebowski – The Dude, Walter, Donny
6. Shrek – Shrek, Fiona, Donkey
7. The Three Caballeros – Donald Duck, José Carioca, Panchito Pistoles
8. Mario Brothers – Mario, Luigi, Bowser
9. Good, Bad, and the Ugly – Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallich
10. The Three Stooges – Larry, Moe, Curly Joe

Threes in Science and Nature

1. Many Trees and shrubs have groups of leaves in patterns of three.
2. An atom is divided into three parts – Proton, Neutron, and Electron.
3. Three Cell Types in Mammals – Muscle/Skeletal, Cardiac Muscle, and Smooth Muscle.
4. Matter is divided into – Solid, Liquid, and Gas.
5. Three Dimensions – Length, Width, and Depth.
6. The phases of the moon are dictated by the Earth, the Sun, and the Moon itself.
7. Three Primary Colors – Red, Blue, and Yellow
8. Triangle – A geometric shape with three sides.
9. Three-Leaf Clover.
10. Three Pyramids of Giza.
11. Three-ball Snowmen.

Miscellaneous Famous Trios

1. Bacon, Lettuce, and Tomato Sandwiches.
2. “Three’s a Crowd” idiom.
3. Snap, Crackle, Pop – Ad jingle for Rice Krispies.
4. Three-Legged Race
5. Three Strikes, and You’re Out – Baseball expression.
6. Three Hockey Goals is a Hat Trick.
7. The Three Little Kittens.
8. Three Blind Mice.
9. “A Third Wheel” idiom.
10. The Three Witches from Shakespeare’s Play MacBeth.
11. Three little words: I Love You.
12. The three Schuyler Sisters.
13. The Fairy Godmothers.
14. The three ghosts in The Christmas Carol.
15. The three graces.
16. The three R’s are reading, writing, and arithmetic.
17. Three stages of man: childhood, adulthood, and old age.
18. The three branches of government are executive, legislative, and judicial.
19. The three pillars of Christianity are faith, hope, and love.
20. Triplets.
21. Count to “Three Mississippi” before rushing in touch football.

Famous Trios FAQs

Here are a couple of frequently asked questions about famous trios.

Is Three a Lucky Number?

In Numerology, three is considered the luckiest number. It is considered a symbol of creativity and intelligence. It is the luckiest number in China, and many buildings and monuments use three as a guide for construction. In Chinese, the word three sounds like the Chinese word for birth. It is also a sacred number in virtually every culture and religion throughout the world.

In horse racing, a Trifecta is placing a bet on the top three winning horses in a race. It can also be wagering correctly on three race winners in a row. The phrase third time lucky or three’s the charm is popular in betting circles.

One of the reasons three is considered lucky has to do with men and women. When a man and a woman conceive a child, they become three instead of two.

Why is the Top of a Written Three Flat?

When accountants kept ledgers by hand, threes were written with a round top like this – 3. It was discovered that a three with a round top could easily be changed to an eight – 8. This meant that an entry of $3,000 could become $8,000. A nightmare for bookkeepers. But how could it be fixed? The answer was simple, make the top of the three flat and a modification would be obvious.

How are Modern 3-D Movies Made?

To duplicate the way our own two eyes see the world, 3-D cameras have two lenses mounted near each other. This captures an image from two different perspectives that trick the eye into seeing in three dimensions.

This creates the illusion of depth and makes things appear more real and alive. In the early days of 3-D, each image was a distinct color, red or blue. We then wore red or blue glasses to create the 3-D effect. This technique could also be printed in the form of 3-D comic books.

Called stereoscopic vision, our eyes have excellent depth perception and can estimate how far objects are away from us. With modern 3-D movies, instead of red and blue, the two separate images are projected through polarizing filters.

One filter is vertical, and one is horizontal. Wearing 3-D polarizing glasses sends the brain two distinct images. The brain merges them into one image that appears to be in 3-D.

By Tim Moodie and Mike O’Halloran

Tim is a bit ashamed to admit this, but he has never won a game of Rock, Paper, Scissors.

You are on our Famous Trios page.

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